... does whatever a spider can

In the movie world, it's a fine line between an effective sequel and a lifeless re-hash. Some follow-ups, like Empire Strikes Back, effectively expand the world set forth in the first film and further the mythology of their characters. Some, like Kill Bill 1 and 2, satisfyingly break a larger story into multiple parts for digestion's sake.

Then there are the sequels that tread the same path as the previous films, offering little in terms of innovation. Think Matrix 2 and 3. These types of shaky sequels barely teach us anything new about the characters, present similar plots and themes in largely the same manner, and send already familiar characters on near-identical journeys as the ones we've seen before.

Spider-Man 3 is that sort of a sequel. The movie looks pretty good and has the required decibel level of a summer blockbuster, but in the end something's lacking. The film presents a story intended to develop the darker side of radioactive-spider-bite victim Peter Parker and his resulting super-powered alter-ego. And yet, in trying to demonstrate his inner turmoil and the struggle to beat back the angst, the film largely fails.

When he dons his new black suit, which just happens to be an alien symbiote that crashes to Earth in a meteorite (and that's all we ever learn about it), all the various aspects of his personality, particularly anger, are amplified. In an over-long snooze-fest montage, Peter's new darker (and, as a by-product, cockier) self struts his stuff on the streets of New York, winking and gyrating for the ladies he passes, letting his emo-boy hair fall in front of his eyes. It's funny for a little while, but it's hardly something that feels like part of a Spider-Man film, and it culminates in a laughable piano-playing dance scene in a jazz club. Don't ask.

On the Spider-Man side of things we have one fight scene that presents the dark side of the character in the grips of the new alien suit and driven by revenge. Spidey tracks down Flint Marko / Sandman, suddenly revealed as the true killer of Peter's uncle Ben. This just happens to be the motivation Spider-Man needs to let the anger out. This fight scene, as most of the fights in the film, is murky, blurred and tough to follow, a far-cry from the crisp and finely-choreographed battles with Doctor Octopus in the second film.

The few good bits in the film (Sandman's touching first attempts to pull himself together after the particle accelerator accident that makes him what he is, Daily Bugle Editor J. Jonah Jameson's funny scene with a hyper-active office buzzer and a desk full of pill bottles, and Harry and Peter putting aside their differences to rescue Mary Jane from Sandman and Venom) resonate for a while. In the end, though, many of the things the film does are far too similar to what we've seen before and, more times than not, they aren't done nearly as well as they were in previous films.

The redemption Peter receives in the end feels barely deserved and only scarcely earned. Mary Jane's peril is almost exactly the same as the peril of the previous films, hanging from a great height and waiting for Spider-Man to save her. Once again, Aunt May offers words of wisdom to get Peter back on the straight and narrow.

When I had seen Spider-Man 2, as the credits began to roll I was immediately looking forward to the third film. This time around, as Spider-Man 3 ended, it felt as though it would be perfectly alright for there to never be another.